


Nyctophobia

by AviaToons



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Biting, Blood Loss, Blood and Injury, Blood and Torture, Fainting, I cannot emphasize the blood enough, Non-Consensual Kissing, Not Shippy, Rituals, Scratching, carving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:48:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29528028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AviaToons/pseuds/AviaToons
Summary: In the Constant, night was to be feared. It held all sorts of monsters and dangers, and could leave even the most resilient of survivors in pieces by dawn. Even the Constant’s creatures knew this; the rabbits would flee to their dens and the pigs to their houses at the first sign of dusk. Any survivor knew to keep a light handy when night was about to fall, but just because they knew it didn’t mean they were always prepared.
Kudos: 7





	Nyctophobia

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Safe](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26084077) by [j520j](https://archiveofourown.org/users/j520j/pseuds/j520j). 



> Please, I am begging you, heed the tags on this. I wanted to try writing violence, so don't complain that this is violent. That's the whole point.

The dark was such a ridiculous thing to be afraid of. Darkness couldn’t hurt, it couldn’t threaten, it couldn’t kill. It was an absence of light and nothing more, easily pushed away by a candle or spark. Even the tiniest firefly had its own light to keep the darkness at bay.

The Constant, however, did not work that way.

In the Constant, night was to be feared. It held all sorts of monsters and dangers, and could leave even the most resilient of survivors in pieces by dawn. Even the Constant’s creatures knew this; the rabbits would flee to their dens and the pigs to their houses at the first sign of dusk. Any survivor knew to keep a light handy when night was about to fall, but just because they knew it didn’t mean they were always prepared.

Maxwell frantically searched his bag as he ran, desperate to make a torch only to find he was far too short on supplies. Why didn’t he grab any grass?! With no chance to make a light, his only choice was to pray he made it back to camp before nightfall. His years on the throne made him very familiar with what laid in the darkness, and he was far from eager to meet Them again.

The sun began to fade from the horizon as the shadows of the trees grew. While the creatures of the day began to slumber with the departure of the sun, the moon signaled for the dangers of the night to emerge. The fireflies began to rise from the grass, fluttering their wings and faintly glowing, not unlike the stars that began to appear overhead as the sun’s light no longer outshined them. Night was falling faster, and so were the frantic footsteps against the worn dirt path.

Maxwell could see the camp in the distance, the faint glow of a fire giving him hope. He just had to keep running and he would be home. He would be safe and warm and would survive another night in this god-forsaken nightmare he had created. 

Wilson, Woodie, Wickerbottom- _all the others whose names he couldn't remember because they all started with W,_ would be waiting for him there. Not eagerly, of course, nobody was ever happy to have him at the camp, but they'd at least be expecting him back. They would notice if he was gone. They would come looking for him. He just had to make it back.

It wasn't far now. He just had to keep running, stay on the path, and he'd be safe. _They_ wouldn't hurt him.

His vision began to darken as he realized he wouldn't make it. The sound of his running seemed deafeningly loud in the silence of the night.

The silence was broken by something rushing by him, circling him as if to taunt him. Faint whispering sent chills down Maxwell’s spine. _They were coming. They'd be here any moment and they'd-_

_"Maxwell..." A familiar voice whispered._

“...Charlie?”

Maxwell was slammed into the ground, his back scraping against the harsh rocky soil. He felt a weight on him pinning him to the ground and startlingly cold breath close to his ear, but his assailant was invisible in the darkness.

_“Hello, Maxy.”_

Sharp claws gripped Maxwell’s shoulders, digging slightly into his skin through his shirt, just enough to draw blood.

_“Oh, it’s been far too long. I missed you so much!”_

Maxwell yelped in pain as Charlie dug her claws down the length of his arms, ripping his suit and leaving bright and bloody streaks.

“Charlie, please stop, you’re hurting me-!”

Maxwell was cut off by Charlie kissing him roughly, shoving their lips together and wasting no time pushing her tongue into his mouth to muffle his cries of pain. Her teeth were unnaturally sharp, and were likely just as dangerous as the claws that were now slicing across his chest methodically, almost as if they were marking him. He could feel Charlie smirk sadistically against his mouth before finally pulling away, looking down at Maxwell as if to admire her work. He took this moment to catch his breath, but was far from relieved as Charlie traced her fingers across the patterns of cuts on his body.

_“Forgive me if I’m a bit too eager, I’m just so glad to finally see you again. Aren’t you happy to see me, Maxy?”_

Maxwell yelped in pain as Charlie shoved a claw into the center of his chest, deeper than the other marks she had made. Maxwell’s mind began to go hazy as she pulled it back out. He could feel blood dribbling down his arms and torso. “This…” He desperately tried to hold onto consciousness. “This isn’t you, Charlie. Please, don’t listen to Them, I know you’re not trying to-”

Charlie pushed their lips together once again, but this time she bit down hard onto Maxwell’s tongue. He howled in pain as Charlie continued to bite him, from his lip to his jaw all the way down to his shoulder where she could taste the blood from the wounds her claws had left.

_“But Maxy, I’ve missed you for so long. I lost you, and They helped me find you. Now we’re together again, isn’t that wonderful?”_

“Maxwell?!” A faint voice called out in the darkness, a ray of hope for escape. “Maxwell, where are you?! If you can hear me, say something!”

Maxwell opened his mouth to scream but a clawed hand over his mouth silenced any cry for help he might have made. With her free hand, Charlie continued carving into Maxwell’s chest.

_“Now we can’t have that, now can we? I wouldn’t want my beautiful flower to be plucked away from me again. I’ll keep you safe, and when the dawn comes I can take you back with me. They want you to come home, Maxwell.”_

Maxwell began to thrash and do everything he could to get away, but was only met with more scratches and bites and _pain, so much pain!_

He could hear running now. “Maxwell?! Are you there?!”

Maxwell bit down on one of Charlie’s fingers, causing her to let out a ghostly screech as she yanked her hand away. Through his weakness, he only managed to let out a weak cry for help but it was enough.

“Maxwell? Hold on, I’m coming!”

Maxwell slowly began to regain his vision. Faint light shone against Charlie’s face and Maxwell suddenly wished he couldn’t see her. Her shark-like teeth were coated in blood that dripped down her chin, and her eyes were pitch black voids. Her clawed hand, which she was now holding close to her, shone dark red with more blood, and _how much blood had he been losing?_

The growing light now had Charlie’s attention, and she hissed and shrank away from Maxwell to stay in the shadows.

 _“NO! You can’t take him! I’ve lost him for too long!”_ There was a desperation in her voice, and if Maxwell hadn’t just been attacked by her he could have sworn it was his Charlie and not the monster that had left him bleeding on the ground. _“Maxy, come with me! We can be together again! Please, my flower, my rose, my **love!** ”_

Charlie let out another shriek as the light came closer to her, burning her skin. She gave Maxwell one last pleading look, and she looked _so much like herself._ Maxwell reached a hand out to her before she vanished into the darkness.

Wilson dropped next to Maxwell’s side, a hand covering his mouth and tears falling down his face. “Oh- oh my god, Maxwell, what did she do to you…”

Maxwell weakly looked down at himself and, in the light, could see the pattern carved into his chest. A rose, with intricate veins and petals and thorns, painted red with blood. With his mind so clouded from blood loss and seeing Charlie again, it was almost beautiful. He didn't even process the pain anymore, simply giving a smile before passing out.


End file.
